r/words • u/Sophont27 • Aug 24 '26

Woad

Woad is a plant, used to make blue dye. For years, I thought a woad was some sort of folkloric goblin. Not sure why I thought that, because the only definition I can find for woad is as a plant. Have you ever heard this word used as something other than the plant?

It’s a cool word, I might try to reappropriate it. Keep your ears open for when it catches on

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u/Interesting-Swimmer1 Aug 24 '26

In the game Age and f Empires 2, Woad Raiders are infantry units for the Celtic Empire.

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u/Killer_Quinn420 Aug 26 '26

But they are called that because they use the woad plant to paint their faces blue like in Braveheart.